Ether of Hope
by Pallan Minerva
Summary: A thousand colored masks, a thousand paper smiles. Kiara Sessyoin has worn them all, the better to draw and dissemble all beings on their way to salvation. But there is no turning aside, no throwing dust, into the eyes of death itself.


There were few shadows in the Summoning Chamber, a cornerless room where light radiated both from the center platform and bathed the far walls through cool overhead fluorescent rods. On a normal afternoon, it would lay empty and unlit, bereft of all but distant voices from staff and Servants passing by. Now, though, it buzzed with excitement, for Chaldea's only Master had returned from a minor Singularity with enough resources to summon a new Servant.

Ritsuka took light steps to the FATE console, messenger tote jostling her side occasionally, unable to help her own eagerness to have someone else join their family. To this day, she hadn't summoned anyone who was unable to fit in with the community that had been built here. Some, like Jeanne Alter and the Archer form of Gilgamesh, certainly strained more than others to find their social niche, but none had torn their fabric to pieces as of yet.

_But every time I come up here, I can't get my stomach to calm down._

The console only had a few outward parts: the receptacle for Saint Quartz, the palm scanner to confirm that there was a Master present, and the activation lever. The system started to spool up as she approached, and Da Vinci, typing on a touchpad while she stood nearby, flashed her a quick smile.

"They're taking bets on where the new Servant is going to come from," the Italian inventor commented with a flick of her hair, causing Ritsuka to sigh. "I'm feeling something Eastern myself."

"Oh, come on, not you too?" Ritsuka groaned as Da Vinci laughed at her exasperation, but she couldn't help and chuckle along with her. "I try not to think about it too much."

Ritsuka placed her hand on the palm reader, and a few seconds of scanning later the quartz receptacle opened. She pulled out three of the crystals from her bag and placed them inside, and it closed swiftly. The little beep it let out upon doing so gave off a sense of anticipation, and she couldn't help but think that even their tech was looking forward to this.

She inhaled deeply, closing her eyes.

_Grandpa?_

**I am here, Contractor.**

She felt his presence settle nearby, a hum of magical energy that reverberated through her body. Her breath came out in a sigh of relief, and she opened her eyes to stare at the summoning platform.

_Thank you._

There was no reply, but she knew he'd heard her.

Her fingers touched the lever, cool metal that centered her focus. She couldn't afford to be anything but welcoming to the new Servant. She took a moment to ground herself, and without dramatic flair, she flung the lever. The platform responded with a groan of magic and machinery turning on.

"Hey, I wasn't ready!" Alexander yelled. "You should've told me you were throwing it!"

"Tough luck!" she replied as she bounded down the steps to the platform. "Fate waits for no one!"

A pillar of light erupted from the base of the platform, blue and white and filled with power. She bounced on the balls of her feet as three rings of light began to spiral around it, speeding up in rotational speed and speeding up her heartbeat.

The silhouette began to appear, about five and a half feet in height. She clenched and unclenched her fists and readied her smile.

_Happy to meet you! No, wait, just... it's nice to meet you! Ah, uh, hey, welcome to Chal—_

**[ICE ON THE FLOOR]**

Blue eyes. That's what she remembered about him; sharp blue eyes that she delighted in seeing pained. It wasn't enough, of course—nothing would compare to the pleasure of consuming him under her—but he was no longer within the palm of her hand.

_My, my, Ritsuka... I so look forward to meeting you._

This fragment of her, this Alter Ego self, lacked much of the power but none of the mind behind Beast III. She remembered those thousand selves across time and space, she remembered the War fought on the Moon Cell, she remembered .PH and the overwhelming ecstasy of devouring the souls of Heroic Spirits.

Still, she wanted more.

Kiara Sessyoin had been so close to the enlightenment she sought, so very close to the heavenly pleasure she wished to enjoy and for all of humanity to partake in, and yet it escaped her at the last minute due to that twisted man. A soul of glass pieces stomped into dust, steel shards scattered alongside them, and yet he could not help but...

Something touched her. A voice, a wind, a fish hook that asked this fragment if it could impale her. The request made her giggle.

_By all means, please do._

The pain was incredible. She remembered one of her selves being torn to pieces by one of her worshippers and accepting it as part of their redemption. That was incomparable to what she felt right now, as if someone used a very small scalpel to cut each cell in her body in half, and then glued them together again in a roughshod fashion.

_The worst kind of ecstasy._

It was over before she had fully processed it, and then the voice asked her if she wished to save humanity. There was only one answer she could possibly give.

She was reformed, reconstructed, and reborn anew. The light slowly faded, and cold metal reality began to set in. She took a single step off the summoning platform.

"I have come to answer a voice that called for salvation," she spoke clearly. "Sessyoin Kiara, A—"

She couldn't help but stop, for it was not cold blue eyes with a hateful gaze that looked upon her.

"Ah," The girl with the hair colored in fire started, snapping out of a stunned expression. "W-Welcome! Hi! Chaldea! Meeting! Uh—"

"Hello!" A new woman, holding a staff that gave off sounds of whirring gears, approached her with a polite smile. "Welcome to Chaldea. It's a pleasure to meet you, Sessyoin-san."

"...the pleasure is all mine." Kiara resisted the urge to purr and kept her smile decent.

"Ritsuka Fujimura!" The girl held her right hand out, command seals pulsing in blood red on the bone. "Don't worry about calling me Master or anything, Ritsuka or Ri-chan is fine."

Their hands met. Kiara let her fingers easily wrap around the girl's palm, feeling the pulse of her life in every tendon she touched.

_Such vim..._

It was taking a lot out of her not to pounce on her new Master right there. She pushed it down and kept her handshake light, almost frail. First impressions meant everything, and with a blank slate came many opportunities to fill the cracks.

"Ufufu," she chuckled, "your enthusiasm is infectious. I can tell this will be a wonderful new home."

"Hey!" The cry of a man hoarse from yelling echoed from the door. Her gaze turned to the opened door, spotting a barely-shaven man-child with some anime-branded t-shirt and beach shorts. "Ri-chan! Why didn't you tell me we were getting a new waifu?!"

"Blackbeard, did you even bother—" The Master began to shout, though whatever frustration was in her voice was balanced by her smirk.

"Don't ask questions you already know the answer to!" he replied, laughing as he strided over. He wore a caricature of a perverted expression she had become very familiar with. "_Oooooh~!_ I love it, I love it! You've got this whole nun thing going on, but—"

"_Blackbeard!"_ Ritsuka interrupted, smacking him in the chest as he approached. He let out a whine as she did so. "_Stay!_ No intimidating new people!"

"But Ri-chan..." he continued to snivel.

"_No!"_ she repeated. "Go back to your room and think about what you've done!"

His puplike whines followed him as he left the chamber, dejected. His act was easily seen through, but it was nonetheless amusing.

"Sorry about that." The girl turned back with an apologetic smile. "He talks a lot of talk, but he's never tried to actually do anything. Just give him a few smacks every now and then."

"Yes," she said, placing a hand on her upturned cheek, "I can already see my place in this family of yours."

"Hey, new lady!" This time it was a girl with braided pink hair and... no, this was not a woman, they lacked the trained posture. Stars danced in his eyes as he entered her personal space, taking her other hand and shaking it rapidly. "Hey, hey! Where're you from?"

"Japan," she answered simply. "Is that of—"

"Damn!" This voice came from what was definitely a woman with bright magenta hair, cleavage on display. "Oi, come on, are you sure your mom wasn't secretly Russian? What kind of name is Sessyoin?"

"I assure you," she said, somewhat amused, "though I cannot procure my birth certificate for your examination, my family has been born on Japanese soil for many generations. Sessyoin is spelled with the kanji for 'sacred house'. Is that sufficient for you?"

"Urgh." Distaste was painted on the woman's face. "Yes. Damn it all, I owe so many drinks now..."

"You earned it, Drake. Hey, let's go!" The Master with the hair of fire took Kiara's elbow in hand and began to drag her towards the door, her smile blinding. "Let me show you around!"

The headquarters of the Chaldea Security Organization reminded her only somewhat of Seraphix. There was a certain spark of life that lit every corridor as humans and Servants alike engaged each other; talking, laughing, chasing and being chased. This was not the air of those close to facing what appeared to be an insurmountable threat—Goetia must have been long gone.

With every new room they entered, Ritsuka was always greeting and being greeted. She came off as a social butterfly in her element, but Kiara could spot the telltale signs; every time they left a room, a tense steel wire in her body unwound ever so slightly, and her smile lost some of its brightness.

_Not an introvert, but neither is she in her natural element._

"And here's where you'll be staying!" Ritsuka opened the door to a generic bedroom. The only color in a room of cold blue-white metal was the tall potted plant in the far corner. The Master took a few steps inside and turned to her, her smile showing the faintest signs of strain. "I know it doesn't look like much, but we've got a lot of talented people here that would be happy to spruce it up a bit!"

"Wonderful," she replied, putting one foot inside and tasting the air. Freshened up, but unused. They took care of even the empty rooms here. "And where do you stay, Master?"

"In the staff section, last door on your right. And I told you not to call me Master!" Kiara giggled at the small pout that appeared on the girl's face. "Please, Ritsuka would be so much better."

"Ah, but is that not the nature of our relationship?" she asked, putting on her saintly demeanor. "I am but one of many Servants to serve you, Master."

"That doesn't matter," the girl said with more passion than she expected. "You're a person too, just like me. I don't want us to have that kind of power dynamic."

"Mm..." Kiara considered the girl in front of her anew. Her eyes were firm, her lips set in a straight line, and one arm was cocked with her hand resting on her hip. "I apologize if I have offended you... Ritsuka-san."

The girl sighed.

"We'll work on it," Ritsuka said, running a hand through her hair. "Anyway, is there anything else you need? Something I could do to help you feel more comfortable? I already told you when dinner is, right?"

Naked need emanated from her amber eyes, and Kiara had to swallow the bubbling desire inside to embrace the girl tightly and provide unto her the pleasure of her heavenly nirvana.

"You have," she nodded, her beatific smile still there. "For the moment, I am... content. I appreciate all that you have done for me today, Ritsuka-san."

"My pleasure!" Her orange hair jumped with her as she scratched the back of her head, smiling once more. She waved as she opened the door, walking out. "See you later!"

The door closed, and Kiara sat on the bed. It was perhaps a little too soft for what she planned to use it for, but it would service her needs well enough. She exhaled onto her hands, pale white skin reddening wherever blood rushed. Her body was her sharpest knife, her greatest weapon—it would serve her very well here.

_So many to partake in... so many to enlighten... Chaldea truly is a special place._

Were she less in control of herself, perhaps she would have squealed in happiness as she hugged the nearby pillow to her chest. The opportunity she had been given felt like a godsend—a world where her name was unknown and her history was to be shaped as she wished. A new tool for her to use.

Excitement rushed through her veins. She was already yearning to join with someone, preferably one of those flirtatious swordsmen she had spotted while on the tour. But no, she had not ingratiated herself into the community just yet. She would have to make do with herself for now.

She closed her eyes and laid back on the bed, placing one hand at her breast and the other at her navel, ready to crawl down. She remembered the boy with eyes of sapphire blue, remembered the fantasies of him on top of her, underneath her, aggressive and passive, unable to let go, unable to run away—

She almost moaned before her eyes shot open. She was no longer alone.

The figure was tall, his dark helmet only inches away from hitting the ceiling. He was clad entirely in black armor, and the only face she could discern from him was a skull-like mask, with two dark blue flames (_sapphire fluorescent medical painful_) occupying the eye sockets. He gave off nothing—no, it was more accurate to say that there was nothing there to detect. This was something beyond Presence Concealment. She could not read a single emotion from him, and his body language gave nothing away.

He stood a mere foot away from her bedside, staring down at her. Her compromising position seemed to bother him none at all, and she was too used to placing herself in those positions to feel uncomfortable with it. She simply smiled.

"Hello," she said. "Have you come to join me?"

He gave off nothing in reply. He did not even shift his posture, more akin to a statue than a man. She removed her hands from where they had been pleasuring her and pushed herself upright. His armor was polished with dust and stained with time.

"Or is there something else I can do for you?" she added, tilting her head downward some, but keeping her gaze locked with his. "Some trouble that I can—"

"**Neither thy cloth nor thy words can hide thy sin, Beast,"** he stated, a baritone that reverberated in the small room. "**The evening bell hath tolled thy name."**

His voice was a ripple in the still water of a lake in a cavern, a storm that echoed unending on its surface. She wasn't certain if it was even physical; if she had been deaf, it would have forced her auditory nerves active and embedded itself in her mind.

"So you are here to kill me," she said calmly, letting the mask fall somewhat. Her smirk sharpened on the whetstone of interest. "Many before you have tried, and very few have succeeded. Would your Master accept my murder, so soon after my arrival?"

"**Thy head remains upon thy neck for her sake alone," **he replied. "**Mine eyes know the truth of thy character. Thou was once a healer, and thy Master requires healing. My blade will remain sheathed until thou cannot resist thy urges any longer. Thou art a Beast, and thou shalt always seek to corrupt and decay. Thy life remains forfeit, it is only thy execution that hath been stayed."**

"My, my, what kindness," she leaned back onto her hands. "May I at least know the name of my executioner? Everyone else I had known, for they are archived upon the throne, and I have seen its catalog many times. But you have not been recorded there, and so you have the rare trait of anonymity. Will you give me, if nothing else, a title to address you by?"

The ocean in his eyes darkened a shade.

"**For thee,"** he said, "**Azra'il is suitable."**

With the silent eruption of a pillar of blue fire, he was gone.

She breathed deeply, relishing in the tingling sensation of tension leaving her body. Fear was something she had only known from her other lives, the fear of an approaching death. She thought that there was no being that could instill that in her again, not even when Meltryllis ended her descent to the Earth's core.

"The Angel of Death..." she murmured, her smirk only growing. "Fufufu. Well now... I look forward to working with you."

* * *

There are only so many comics about these two that one can read before one's fingers are beside themselves with the need for more. Who else will advocate for Her Lewdness, if not I? Well, **TungstenCat** has done a very good job of it while I've been stuck playing with other dolls and action figures in _Saga_, but I digress.

Welcome, old and new readers alike. This story will mainly focus on putting Grandpa Hassan and Kiara Sessyoin in situations together. There is, of course, a greater Chaldea going on around them, of which you will get glimpses of. But our sights will always be set on those two, for they are nothing if not opposites. There will be no romance, no ravishing of each other's bodies, nothing like that—I simply wish to see how they interact with one another outside of the few fan comics we have seen.

As always, thank you to my lovely Loresingers for their assistance with this story. I'd be nothing without them.

Your ending theme is _someone pulling the strings_ by **Yuki Kajiura**.

Thanks for reading.


End file.
